


Together We Are Both Alone, But We Don't Mind

by Tito11



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, On Hiatus, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-22
Updated: 2013-07-22
Packaged: 2017-12-21 01:11:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/894042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tito11/pseuds/Tito11
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>High school!AU in which Carwood’s got a lot of responsibility and is a little shy, Speirs is a bit of a psycho but is also desperately lonely, Nix has something of a drinking problem but is pretty happy, all things considered, and Dick is the only thing keeping this situation from imploding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Together We Are Both Alone, But We Don't Mind

**Author's Note:**

> apparently i'm just not satisfied when I have less than three unfinished fics to play with at any given time, so because my other BoB fic is almost complete, here's something just a little bit different
> 
> title from Nicole Atkins's "Together We're Both Alone"

Carwood's morning starts out bad and it just keeps getting worse. He startles awake with a sinking feeling and realizes why with a quick look at the clock, which shows he's overslept by exactly twenty-eight minutes. It wouldn't be so bad, except that when Carwood gets up late, the whole house gets up late. 

"Shit," he says, and rolls out of bed to go wake up his brother. 

Jack is understandably upset about being woken up late, but Carwood just hustles him into the bathroom to brush his teeth and goes to throw together some lunch. They're out of bread, so he just makes two quick salads instead. Jack's not going to be happy about that, either, but he'll be even more unhappy if he doesn't get a lunch at all; Carwood knows this from experience. They're also almost out of juice, too. They’ve got just enough to fill Jack's reusable bottle and Carwood himself will just have to do without.

After the lunches are made and sitting by the door, Carwood goes to check on Jack, making sure his teeth are brushed and he's getting dressed. School appropriate clothes, too, and Carwood's been at this gig long enough to know all the tricks; no way is the kid getting out of the house dressed in pajamas, no matter how bad he wants to show off the Spiderman design. Jack's surprisingly cooperative today, which Carwood just knows means he's saving his mischief for later, when Carwood will be blindsided by it. He just gives the boy a narrow-eyed look and goes to take breakfast to his mother.

"Morning, mom," he says as he comes into the room. "Running late today so I can't stay, but here's your oatmeal." When she doesn’t answer, he just sets the bowl on her nightstand and goes to open the blinds. It's probably going to be one of her bad days, but Carwood just doesn't have the time right now to talk her out of it. "Susan will be an hour early today, because she's got a wedding to go to tonight, but Jack will be home after school and he'll be here all evening. I've got work but I'll be back by nine at the latest. We're leaving now." She still doesn't look at him, so he just kisses her on the cheek and leaves.

Through luck or miracle, Jack's already in the kitchen when Carwood gets there, eating the cereal Carwood poured for him. He’s taking his sweet time about it, though, so Carwood hurries him up, knowing they've only got a few minutes before the bus comes and there'll be hell to pay if they miss another day of school. Jack whines, but he eats faster, so Carwood counts it as a win. 

Finally, finally, they get to the door. That's where the next problem crops up, though, because Jack makes a face as he's tying his shoes and says, "Carwood, these shoes pinch again." 

Crap, Carwood thinks. Crap. They absolutely cannot afford shoes this month, not with the co-pay for the extra medicine his mom needed for her cold and the tickets for Jack's school field trip to the zoo. Those things together had cleaned out the emergency fund and now there's nothing left for new shoes. Shoes are expensive, too. Carwood knows, because he's been wearing the ones he has now for almost two years, and he's had to start taping them together. Herbert Sobel gives him shit about it, but a new pair is pretty unlikely, at this point. For Jack, though, he'll manage it, somehow. Just maybe not until next month.

"Okay, boy," he says and hustles him out the door. "I'll see what I can do."

They just barely make it to Jack's bus on time, and Carwood breathes a sigh of relief once Jack’s on it. He stands there with all the parents for a few moments, catching his breath and waving, even though Jack's too old and cool now to wave back. He also spares a second to remember the first time he put Jack on this bus, four years ago now, and how scared Jack looked the whole time, face pressed against the back window. Then he shakes his head, sighs and runs to catch his own bus.

 

“Hey, Lip,” Dick says as Carwood slumps down next to him in first period English. “Rough morning, huh?”

“Woke up late,” he explains, “and Jack decided he was going to play in his cereal instead of eating it, so we almost missed the bus.” He doesn’t say anything about the shoes. He never tells his friends about his money problems, mostly because he doesn’t want them to worry. Carwood does enough worrying for everyone involved, and his friends aren’t involved, not really. Plus, they just wouldn’t understand. Nix is rich as Midas and Dick’s parents both have steady jobs. Neither of them have ever had to decide whether they were going to pay the bills or buy food. Neither of them have ever had to tell their brother he couldn’t go to the amusement park with his friends because they couldn’t afford the ticket. Carwood always does his best, but sometimes that’s just not enough, and no matter how great his friends are, that’s not something they’d ever understand.

"Did you guys see the new kid?" Malarkey interrupts, sitting down on Nix's other side. "I don't know his name, but he's that scary-looking guy over there."

"Where?" Nix asks, looking around the room for anyone who might be considered scary-looking. Then he says, "Oh," and his eyes go wide. "Don't look now Lip, but that guy is totally staring right at you. And he looks mad."

"What?" Carwood hisses. "Are you sure?"

Honestly, he's got enough to deal with right now without adding some new bully to his life. He's already got Sobel to fill that role. Sobel’s actually the best kind of bully to have, because he never resorts to violence. If this new kid really has it out for him, he might not stick to the same methods. Who's going to take care of Jack and their mother if Carwood gets seriously injured by some crazy new kid? Carwood thinks faintly of how much medical bills cost and swallows.

Then, because that's just how his day is going, Mr. Strayer comes into the room with a stack of papers in his arms and says, "Pop quiz! I hope you all did the reading."

Carwood didn't, as a matter of fact. After work last night, he'd had to help Jack with his math homework. His mother had needed him to fix her wheelchair after that, because one of the wheels had gone wobbly. By the time he'd gotten the whole thing back together, it was time for Jack's shower, which always takes much longer than it needs to, and Carwood has to monitor him the whole time he's in there or else the bathroom inevitably becomes flooded. When Jack and Mom were finally in bed, Carwood had just enough time to do his math homework before falling asleep. 

Most kids don’t have that much to deal with, he knows, but fair is fair and he takes the quiz just like everybody else. Really, it's a good thing he's smart or else he'd have failed out a long time ago. Still, his family is more important than school, anyway, and it's that thought that keeps him going most days, even days he’s failing quizzes.

 

The rest of the day doesn’t improve after that. He has two more quizzes he didn't study for and has to turn in a paper only half done. The teachers all give him looks, but they know his situation, so none of them actually say anything.

At lunch, he accidentally spills water down his front, which Sobel gives him shit about. He also finally sees the new kid, after spending the whole morning with the hot discomfort of knowing someone was watching him without knowing who or for what reason. He’s very attractive, Carwood notices immediately. All the girls and even some of the guys keep giving the kid admiring or suggestive looks. The kid, though, he doesn’t even notice. He just keeps looking very intensely right at Carwood.  
Carwood smiles, because his mother taught him to be polite, but he can tell it’s the nervous sort. He gives a little wave, too, for good measure. The kid doesn’t wave back or even smile. He just keeps staring, unblinking and intense, until Carwood looks away again.

“That’s Ron Speirs,” Nix tells him when he asks. Nix works in the office right before lunch and always finds out all the news then. Carwood doesn’t like to gossip, but he feels like it’s something he should know, especially if this kid, Speirs, really does have it out for him. “I heard from Malarkey that he’s been kicked out of four schools in the last year and that if this one doesn’t work out, his parents are shipping him off to military school.”

“Didn’t Malarkey not even know his name in first period?” Dick asks, frowning. Dick doesn’t like gossip very much, either, which makes it even more unclear to Carwood why he’s dating the school’s worst bigmouth. Or, it would be unclear, except that he’s seen how well they fit together and how much they love each other. If Carwood had the time, he’d definitely be jealous.

Nix just shrugs. “You know how fast rumors spread in this place. The whole school’s probably talking about it by now.”

He’s right, as Carwood finds out. In all of his classes after lunch, everyone’s whispering about the new kid. The story gets more and more exaggerated with every passing period, too. At lunch, Speirs had apparently been kicked out of four schools in the last year, but by the end of the day, the rumor mill seems to think it’s at least ten.

The worst part about the whole thing, at least for Carwood, is that Speirs is in all but one of his afternoon classes, and he just keeps on staring, the way he did at lunch. It’s unnerving, to say the least, but it’s also very distracting. Not only is the new guy good-looking, but he’s also very intense. Honestly, it’s a distraction Carwood doesn’t need. He’s barely getting through school as it is, what with all the time he has to spend on other things, and he needs all the time he can get to concentrate during school hours. The way Speirs just stares and stares does not help with this endeavor at all.

Somehow, Carwood manages to pay enough attention in all his classes to get a few notes down, notes he probably won’t have a chance to use to do his homework tonight, since he has to work. Still, it’s good to have the notes, in case there’s a lull in customers at his register.

 

After the last bell of the day rings, Carwood makes his way through the crowded hallways as fast as he can without running into anyone. He grabs all the books he might need, just in case, and shoves them into his bag. The shoulder seam is wearing worryingly thin, but as long as it doesn’t break today, he can deal with it later.

Nix and Dick catch up with him as he steps outside, each with a bag slung over his shoulder.

“We’re having a sleepover tonight, if you want to come,” Nix offers as he falls into step with Carwood. Because Dick is an upstanding gentleman, this really isn’t code for sex. Nix’s parents are always traveling, leaving him alone in that big house of his, and he likes to have people over to stay as often as possible. It’s not usually an option for Carwood, between looking after his mother and brother, but occasionally he manages to arrange a sleepover for Jack with one of his friends and trusts that his mother will call if she needs him urgently. He always feels terribly guilty about going out, though, so he tries to keep it to once or twice a month.

“Sorry,” Carwood tells him, and he sincerely is. He’s never had to live in an empty house, especially one with as many echoes as Nix’s, but he imagines it would be terribly lonely. He wishes he could help keep the guy company more often, but it’s just not in the cards. “I have to work tonight.”

“Again?” Nix whines. 

“Lew,” Dick says, nudging his boyfriend a bit in the ribs. “Leave the guy alone. Not all of us can be trust fund babies.” He’s smiling fondly as he says it, though, and Nix doesn’t seem too offended, anyway.

The truth is, it’s not just Nix. None of Carwood’s friends really understand the kind of responsibilities he has. Carwood doesn’t blame them by any means, and he doesn’t feel bitter or jealous, not really. He doesn’t hate his life, though it’s not fun at times, but he loves his family, and he wouldn’t trade them for anything. If working four nights a week is what it takes to keep them together, so be it.

“I’ll be there next time,” Carwood promises. It’s been a while since he’s been to one of their sleepovers, so as long as his mother doesn’t go into one of her bad spells, it should be fine.

They have to go opposite directions, Carwood to the bus stop and the others to the parking lot where Nix keeps his car, so they part pretty quickly after that. Carwood makes it to his bus with a few minutes to spare, which he uses to pull out his notes for the science project that’s due next week. He hasn’t started it yet, hasn’t had time, but he’s got a few good ideas about what he wants to do, so that’s something. He keeps working through his notes even as the bus arrives and he climbs on board. He swipes his bus pass one-handed and grabs a seat in the back. He’s been riding this bus by himself for seven years, now, and he could probably do it in his sleep.

The grocery store where he works is thankfully deserted when he gets there, so he clocks in and then keeps on studying. It’s just a small place and Carwood knows the owner personally, and as long as he’s friendly and polite whenever a customer comes through his lane, he’s allowed to read or whatever when there’s no business. He always feels a bit bad, doing homework while he’s on the clock, but his days never have enough time in them as it is, so he never refuses, either. Still, he always makes sure his register is stocked and ready before he does any of his own work, just in case there’s a rush. 

Only about twenty people come in during the five hours Carwood works, so he has lots of time to finish up all the work for tomorrow, plus make-up the work he didn’t have done today. Most teachers usually let him turn things in late for partial credit, which he takes full advantage of. It’s good of them to do, and he really appreciates it, the effort they all make for him. In a better world, he thinks he could be a great student, but in this one, he’ll just settle for not failing out.

The last customer of the night comes in exactly five minutes before they close at nine. Carwood’s packing up his things when the bell on the door rings, so he doesn’t get a look at the person until they’re ready to check out. He looks at the merchandise first, just a bottle of water, and thinks, easy enough. Then he looks up and has to revise his opinion.

It’s the boy, the one from today that kept staring. Speirs, his name was, Ron Speirs. He’s staring now like he did all day, with his angry, intense eyes, never blinking. 

“Hi,” Carwood says, trying to sound normal. He’s not afraid of this boy, exactly, though the rumors made him seem pretty tough. He’s very unnerving, though, and Carwood can’t pretend that doesn’t take his breath away. “Find everything alright?”

“Yes,” the kid says, curtly. “Just fine.”

“Glad to hear it,” Carwood says, finding his smile and his confidence again. If this kid is as always this intense, he probably doesn’t get too many friendly smiles. It’s the least Carwood can do, really, smiling at him, maybe making his night a little better. Rumors don’t really mean anything, anyway, and who even knows if they’re true.

He reaches for the bottle, pleased with how cool he’s being, and rings it up. “Your total is $1.65,” he says, and doesn’t even get annoyed when Speirs pays in dimes and nickels. Sometimes that’s all a person has to spend, and Carwood understands that better than anyone.  
Speirs grabs up his water without waiting for Carwood to bag it, and walks away stiffly. It’s a bit rude, but if there’s one thing Carwood’s realized while working in this place, it’s that most people don’t even realize when they’re impolite, they’ve usually just got a lot on their mind.

“Have a good night,” Carwood calls after him. He doesn’t think Speirs heard for a minute, because he keeps on walking. At the door, though, he turns around and looks back. They just stand there for a minute, looking at one another, and then Speirs smiles, shyly. He waves, slightly, then the bell rings again and he’s gone.

His smile explains a lot, Carwood thinks as he counts out his register. If the guy’s just shy, his staring suddenly makes a lot more sense. The rumors about him may or may not be true, but regardless, he’s shy and he’s new, and that’s reason enough to try to make friends with him.

He puts his money drawer into the safe in the back, then locks up the store on his way out. The bus is on-time, for once, so he gets home in time to throw together a late dinner for his family. It’s not much, just Hamburger Helper without the hamburger, because it’s been that kind of month. Jack wrinkles his nose at it, but doesn’t say anything, and Carwood even gets his mom to come to the table with them, so it’s a win on both sides.

After that, he makes sure his mom is settled in with one of her romance novels before going to check Jack’s homework. There’s no math tonight, thank goodness, because that always takes Jack forever to work through, but there is a Social Studies essay on Kentucky that Carwood proof-reads for him. It’s pretty good, for being written by a fourth-grader, and Carwood gives him a smile afterward, pleased that the evening’s going well, even if the morning sucked. 

Then it’s time for Jack’s shower, during which the bathroom is not flooded, for once. As a reward, he lets Jack stay up for an extra half-hour. He gets his mom into bed in the meantime, letting Jack watch their crappy cable TV. She’s still not very talkative, but he tries, anyway, telling her about getting all his homework done at work and about the new boy he’s decided he’s going to make friends with.

When she finally says, “Goodnight, Carwood,” he takes that as his cue to leave and goes out to hustle Jack into bed, too. Jack doesn’t go easy, but Carwood knows all the right things to say, when to be gentle and when to threaten, and Jack goes after only a minor sulking fit.

“Goodnight, boy,” he says as he tucks him in. 

“Night,” Jack says, sleepily, and rolls over, undoing all of Carwood’s work with the blankets. If he doesn’t mind, though, Carwood certainly doesn’t, so he just ruffles his brother’s hair before going to shower and brush his teeth. 

As he’s lying in bed, though, his thoughts eventually do turn back to school and the new kid. Carwood, of all people, understands what it’s like to not quite fit in. His friends are great and he loves them, and of course they’re all weirdoes, too, but there are times when Carwood feels so very alone. He imagines this is how Ron Speirs feels, too, with as shy and awkward as he seems to be. It’s okay, though, because Carwood’s spent his whole life fixing problems, and this problem specifically, he’s already got a plan for. He smiles, turns over, and, after such a long day, finally falls asleep.


End file.
